Cruella is the latest Disney movie to be released on Disney+ through Premier Access, but when will it be available to watch for free? The live-action trend continues over at Disney, even though not all of its live-action projects have been successful, but the studio is also choosing villains from some of its animated classics to give them their own, solo adventures and through them explore their backstories. First was Maleficent in 2014, with Angelina Jolie playing the unforgettable Sleeping Beauty villain, a role she reprised in the 2019 sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The next villain to get her own movie is Cruella de Vil, who viewers met in the 1961 movie 101 Dalmatians.
In the animated movie, Cruella de Vil is a spoiled heiress who becomes obsessed with creating a coat made out of the skin of dalmatian puppies, specifically those owned by her former schoolmate Anita and her husband Roger. Cruella is one of the most iconic Disney villains, made more popular by Glenn Close’s performance in the live-action movies 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians, and the character is now ready for yet another version, one that will explore her backstory more in-depth. Simply titled Cruella and starring Emma Stone as the title villain, the movie explores her journey from a young, aspiring fashion designer to the notorious criminal known as Cruella de Vil.
Cruella was originally scheduled for a December 23, 2020 release but was delayed to May 28, 2021, as filming began in August 2019. Cruella is one of the few titles that wasn’t pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t affected by it at all. In March 2021, it was announced that Cruella would be released simultaneously on Disney+ through Premier Access and in theaters, following the steps of movies like Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon. Disney+ subscribers can stream Cruella for $29.99 before it’s made available for all viewers, which according to the platform, will happen on August 27, 2021.
The coronavirus pandemic put many movies and TV shows on hold and pushed studios to reschedule many of their releases, with many of them ending up opting for sending them to different streaming platforms. Disney seized its own platform and used it to release its biggest titles, as are Mulan, Soul, Raya and the Last Dragon, and the upcoming Black Widow, though most of them for a price. Soul skipped the Premier Access phase and was made available to stream for free from day one, but the rest came with a fee so the studio wouldn’t see a big box office loss. Those movies released through Premier Access had to wait three months before being made available for all viewers, and that will be the case with Cruella, with subscribers having to wait until August to watch if they don’t want to pay extra for it.
Cruella joined the list of movies affected by the pandemic though not as bad as many others that went through various delays, as was the case of Black Widow, but a simultaneous release in theaters and Disney+ will help it reach its target audience a lot easier amidst all the problems the pandemic brought to the entertainment industry.